ORDERED WEEKS

“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day…” – Genesis 2:2a

The accumulation of ordered days produces ORDERED WEEKS: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work…” (Gen 2:2). God had tangible achievements to show for the six days of creative work. We should work to achieve; and play ball to score goals. God wants us to have productive weeks to His Glory. Our work and productivity matter to Him. He finished His week’s projects with fulfilment: “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were FINISHED” (Gen.2:1). His method is a cycle of six days of productive labour, creative work, and lasting achievement. We also must make up our minds to always finish something significant every week.

God created us to be productive: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over…” (Gen. 1:28a). The Lord Jesus Christ requires a return on our lives. He wants us to make the best use of our time: the moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months. Living productively is important to God (Eph.5:15-17).

Time is precious. Here are a dozen scriptural nuggets of wisdom on how to order and maximize every week:

Rise early – Start early: Early beginning ensures that much gets done. Have a head start. More time translates into more completed tasks.

Prioritize and Focus: completing tasks one at a time will enhance efficiency and increase performance precision. Learn to say “no”: a well-placed ‘No’ will save time and trouble, and even one’s life! Start to think like an emergency room doctor:  Figure out the absolute best use of the ‘Now’ time and focus on it. All the other clutter on the desk can wait.

Plan to be productive: start with a good plan that’s focused on meaningful tasks. Unexpected happenings may come, but having a schedule helps. Work in intervals of say, 25 minutes and 5 minutes break. You cannot go full throttle all day.

Proactivate the week: aim to complete your key tasks on Thursday. Friday can then be used to concentrate on unexpected tasks, reflect, and begin to prepare for the coming week. This helps to finish the week strong!

Complete is better than perfect: Striving for excellence is a great goal, but obsessive perfectionism is the ultimate enemy of productivity. Don’t beat yourself up striving to be perfect. It takes time and practice to master anything, including productivity. Constant improvement is the realistic goal – not instant perfection.

Concentrate: Work hard and play hard, but don’t mix the two. Be fully engaged always. Minimize chats. Avoid distraction: take “Do Not Disturb” time, because you may need half an hour to refocus after being interrupted on a task. Have vital work blocks on the calendar or put a door sign. Ninety nine percent of things can wait until after. Screen calls and emails, so as to respond to the most important.

Tackle the Tough: Tackle what you don’t want to do first; get it out of the way so that you don’t waste any energy resenting it or regretting. You’ll be so relieved for the rest of the day.

Welcome Constructive Criticism: share your calendar and to-do-list with an accountability partner. Another set of eyes helps.

Schedule rest and down time: A portion each day and on weekends to stay far, far away from work. You deserve a break! God built rest into His week’s agenda. We must do likewise!

Only do what only you can do: Avoid a crammed task list. If there’s someone who can do what you’re doing better or cheaper, have them do it. Spend time doing things only you can do.

Review progress and  performance: Take time at intervals and weekend to critique the results. Find ways to improve.

Create a list of personal “Once a Days”: Many things only need to be done once (maximum twice) per day e.g. checking voicemail and Facebook. Ensure these tasks aren’t creeping into your workload unnecessarily.